Vaporizer



Dec. 11, 91945. M. E. EUSTATHOPULO VAPORIZER Filed March 10, 1941 Patented Dec. 11, 1945 UNITED STATES'Vv PATENT OFFICE VAPORIZER Marjorie E. Eustathopulo, New York, N. Y.

Application March 10, 1941, Serial No. 382,670

2 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for vaporizing liquids at a low rate for the purpose of diiusing into a room a mild scent or perfume and has for its primary purpose the providing of an automatic scent and germicide dropper designed to` discharge upon a heated surface drops of the perfume, medicant, or disinfectant much smaller than would fall from an ordinary drop dispensing container.

A further object of the invention is to provide mined by the viscosity of the antiseptic oil or tincture. My device differs from all of these in discharging droplets in sizes smaller than determined by the area of the regulating opening, and

also in that these droplets are directed to a surface heated to a temperature between that of the room and the boiling temperature of the attar, essential oil or other perfume or disinfectant, deodorizer, germcide, etc.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my device, partly in section.

Figure 2 is a cross section thru the container.

Figure 3 is a detail of the stopper.

Figure 4 shows a modified form of needle.

Figure 5 is a modification.

For convenience of description my device is illustrated in one particular form, which is preferred, but it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited except as required by the claims, as the container may be of large size for hospital and other wholly utilitarian purposes in which case it would be made of metal or earthenware, or when made in small sizes it would be made of crystal, precious metal, or one or more of the newer pastel shade plastics and would be highly ornamental.

As shown the apparatus consists of a droplet discharging container l0, a heated surface such as the bulb of an. electric lamp and some means for positioning them in spaced relation, such as the standshown comprising a base I2, a exible standard I3, and a hook I4 or other suspending 'means The standard may be of clear gem plastic as at |3a in Figure 5 with a base |2a tapped to t the shade holder of a floor lamp, or equipped (Cl. Z22- 420) with a spring clip to grasp the wire of the shade. The dispenser is so regulated that the droplets will fall upon the glass surface atv a chosen rate which may vary largely in both directions from the usual rate of from ten to fteen small drops of scent per hour.

In its preferred form the container is heart'- shaped in vertical cross section and may have circular horizontal cross-sections altho for most attractive appearance I prefer an elliptical horizontal cross section as shown in Fig. 2. vThe container is provided at the bottom with; a vconical valve seat 2i] fitting a conical shoulder 2| on the spindle 22 of the regulator which has agne adjustment for controlling the area of the discharge opening by means loil' its 'threaded"portion,N 24 Within a tapped ferrule 25 which may take a somewhat smaller thread than if the threads were cast or otherwise formed in the glass or plastic of the container. Outside of the dispenser the regulator has a conveniently large finger piece 26 for minute adjustment of the rate of discharge of the liquid.

The stopper 28 provides for convenient lling of thel container without disturbing the setting of the regulator, for permitting the necessary access of air to keep the pressure at'atmospheric, and for suspending the'container. The cooperating lug 29 may be simple as shown o rit may closely resemble the conguration of thestoppei", with or without being removable.

Projecting beyond the bottom margin of the dispensing container body i9 is a slender pointed extension 3B which may be of soft flexible material to prevent injury or it may be of glass or steel. It may be attached to the body Il!y as in Figure 1 or it may be integral with the stem or spindle 22 of the regulator as in Figure'fl, its function being to extend into the flowing stream of liquid so that this clings to and creeps down the needle-like extension 30 and the droplets are discharged from its point. When the extension is fastened to or is integral with the spindle I prefer it to be quite free of the circular margin 3| below the conical valve seat 20. The optional bell-like member 32, which is provided with air circulation openings 36, serves toprotect the extension 30 and to permit the container to stand alone, as when lling. Legs would be used instead of the bell 32 if the container were of metal, for example. This extension 39 with its sharp point discharges droplets of smaller diameter than would drop from the orifice 3| if the spindle valve ended with the cone 2|, and the extension 39 were omitted, particularly when the device is suspended by a tainer or thru the regulator.

chain or cord 33 connected to the eye 35 of the stopper and the similar eye of the lug 29. As there is always a slight movement in the room the point of the needle-like extension 3u will tremble as the container is moved, this being true also of the device in Figure 5 as floor lalrnps are never really rigid and it is preferred that the vessel l0 bey suspended by a chain or cord. The amplitude of trembling will be greater in Figure 1 as the standard I3 is itself flexible. This trembling -of the point makes it possible to discharge even smaller droplets of the attar or other perfume, provided the point is needle-like as it would be even if such a soft flexible material as gold or copper were used. The Word droplet is used to imply a drop appreciably smaller than is discharged by a regular medicine dropper.

If desired the air hole 36' illustrated as being in the stopper could as readily be in some other location, for example, thru the body of the con- The stopper may be in two pieces, frictionally ntting together and the vent be off center so that when desired the stopper may be closed tightly and then a slight additional turn 0f the top portion 38 will bring the hole 39 in the top out of registry with the hole 36 in the threaded part of the stopper thus insuring discharge of only a small portion of the contents of the container when so desired. Further dispensing is then commenced by bringing the holes 39 and 36' into registry again to admit the air necessary for now of the liquid thru the valve.

The container may be filled in place by removing the stopper without disturbing the setting of the regulator or the latter may rst be screwed down to close the valve, and the container stood onits legs or other support 32. The container is then placed over the source of heat which is preferably a tipless electric light bulb of medium or low candle'power as I desire to avoid flash vaporization.

Altho the bell or other protector will normally keep the extension 30 from Contact with substances that would prevent the dispensed liquid from wetting it, as for example the cleaning" of a steel needle by drawing it between the thumb and -forelnger would render the device inefficient with water solutions as the grease thus deposited would make the drops materially larger by their failure to cling to the extension, it is well to draw the extension thru a sterile sheet of cleansing tissue at each lilling of the container.

When the container is suspended over the lamp the rate of flow of the liquid may be set as desired by a proper movement of the thumb-piece 26 of the regulator which as stated has threads of quite low pitch to provide for extremely close adjustment of the time between drops. The tiny droplets falling from the point of the needle-like extension 30 spread on the bulb and are vaporized at a rate so slow that the room is given only a mild fragrance if the liquid is an attar or other perfume; or by using a bulb of higher candlepower and consequent higher temperature of its surface and by increasing the number of drops per minute the room can quickly be surcharged with the indicated oil or tincture in case of sickness.

What I claim is:

l. In combination, a container having a cylindrical exit opening in its bottom and a conical portion forming a valve seat mergingtherewith, a stopper for the container, a central regulator having a threaded engagement with the container and carrying a spindle having a conical valve seating in the conical portion of the opening at the bottom of the container, a needle-like extension extending from the spindle thru the opening appreciably beyond the margin of the container, having its largest diameter less than half the diameter of the junction of the conical and cylindrical openings, and means for resiliently suspending the container.

2. In combination, a container having an orice provided with an adjustable valve, a needleshaped extension extending beyond the orice of materially smaller size than the orifice opening and adapted to discharge from its ne point the liquid owing thru the valved orifice and means to support the container so it will be movedV by light currents of air to cause the point of the extension to tremble, said extension being of nonabsorbent material to which the liquid being discharged clings until it reaches the pointed end, whereby droplets of tiny size can be discharged at long spaced intervals of time. A

MARJORIE E. EUSTATHOPULO. 

